23 January 2017

DEREK KYTE, PREVIOUS WINNER OF THE IOP GOLD MEDAL DIES

Derek Kyte, one of the fathers of modern electronic typesetting, has died aged 90.

Derek Kyte (Linotype) has passed away at the age of 90.  Derek was the brains behind most of the early Linotype inventions and patents, from the Linotron 505 thru to digital font algorithms. 

Much of the success of Linotype-Paul and Linotype was due to the inventions of Derek - truly one of the great inventors and contributors to the Graphic Arts and Publishing industry

He joined Linotype-Paul when they acquired the Purdy and McIntosh phototypesetter, which became the Linotron 505. His signature device was the Linotron 202, a CRT phototypesetter that was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. When Linotype closed down the British operation, he and several engineers formed Chelgraph, which developed typesetting peripherals and scanners.